On Thursday, August 18 at 7 PM the Albany Museum of Art will host a free screening of Lost in Transition, a high energy documentary on skateboarding in the South during the 80s and 90s.

Lost In Transition is the untold story of backyard ramps and pools in the south and the role they played keeping skateboarding alive at a time when its fate was uncertain. These ramps and backyard scenes represent the beginning of the DIY revolution that gave skateboarding the freedom it needed to survive. The footage in this film was all filmed between the years of 1982 and 1992, documenting the gap between the fall of vert skating and the rise of street. 

Vertical skateboarding, also known as vert skating originated in the mid 1960s.  At the time, skateboarding was experiencing its first wave of popularity, and skateboarders were discovering new ways–and new terrains–to ride. The first well-known instance of vert skating took place when a skater’s parents left town for the weekend, and their son and some of his friends drained the backyard swimming pool, which featured smooth, evenly transitioned walls. Street skateboarders skate in urban streets, plazas or industrial areas, making use of park benches and picnic tables, guard rails and handrails, planter boxes, bins, stairs, retaining walls and other street furniture not purpose-built for skateboarding.

Street art and sneakers play a major role in the world of skateboarding  and this film screening pairs perfectly with the AMA’s current exhibitions: Motion Forward: Street Style and The Art & Sole of a Sneakerhead. Most of the sneakers in the exhibition are skateboard shoes. This event will give the public the opportunity to experience the exhibitions and see the customized skateboards and shoes worn by one of the stars in the film, Georgia pro skater Grant Taylor. 

The AMA will provide chairs for the event or guests can bring a blanket to spread out if they would like. Snacks will be available for purchase along with beverages so this can be a fun family experience, date night or just a night out at the AMA.

This film is not rated but contains strong language.

“We are trying to offer programming that uniquely ties to our current exhibitions,” said Paula Williams, Executive Director of the AMA. “Our last THIRD THURSDAY event featured the hip-hop group, Unbreakable Bloodline and a spoken word performance. We are offering this skateboarding documentary for this month’s THIRD THURSDAY program. By offering different types of programming, we are working to engage the community with our exhibitions in new and different ways.”

The September THIRD THURSDAY program will feature a free screening of the 1980’s film, Beat Street. “We are also adding another opportunity highlight the Sneakerhead exhibition before it closes on September 25 by adding one more skateboard event. The Stratosphere professional skateboard team will be coming down to perform at the skateboard park in downtown Albany on Saturday, September 17 and we are extremely excited about that,” added Williams.